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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
09-02-2018, 08:31 AM
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Nice combo you got, enjoy it. I little tip with the 55-300 that I use with my K-3. Don't zoom all the way out to 300mm. I stop at about 280mm which is just short of 300mm The difference in what you see is minimal but the maximum aperture is 5.6 (or maybe 5.8) rather than f 6.3. This makes a difference if you are shooting in poor light or on overcast days.
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Forum: Pentax Forums Giveaways
09-02-2018, 07:25 AM
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Well, it is a long weekend. :)
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Forum: Sold Items
08-29-2018, 03:06 AM
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no worries - but I hope the OP sells the Raynox with all this additional attention...
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Forum: Sold Items
09-01-2018, 04:13 PM
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Better price than you'd get at a retailer :)
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Forum: Sold Items
08-31-2018, 09:42 PM
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Since I am picking up one of those....Hmmm, maybe I need to find some money for this.
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Forum: Sold Items
08-29-2018, 10:48 AM
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I've used both the 150 and 250 on my M100/4 Macro with good results though I've found I prefer the magnification of the 250 on that lens.
This Raynox 150 pairs very well with the M200/4. I've used it reversed and with 52-43 adapter for straight mount.
If I remember right Raynox says the 150 diopter is about equivalent to a 208mm focal length.
I like this setup because on a longer telephoto it leaves plenty of room for lighting between lens and subject.
If anyone is looking for an affordable way to get those closeups with a longer lens, here's your chance.
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Forum: Pentax SLR Lens Discussion
08-31-2018, 04:08 PM
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Try to get very close, Macgirl. Use any power and influence you have to be with the performers instead of up in the stands. The lens gets weaker at the 300mm end.
Ultimately, if this is what you love it leads to an f2.8 zoom, because that will let in four to five times the amount of light and let you keep your shutter speed up to 1/500s without destroying your ISO. :)
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Forum: Pentax KP
08-27-2018, 07:28 AM
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Thanks everyone for the comments on the Jackson Glacier pic. I tend to agree that every KP (and every K-3 and K-70 ) user should consider getting this 55-300 PLM. Conceptually, it's a new type of lens the likes of which have been seen only rarely. Essentially, the lens has consumer grade specs (at least in terms of aperture), but it does not have consumer grades optics. The optics are several cuts above typical consumer grade quality. So what you get is a compact, high quality zoom at a fairly attractive price. You give up aperture, but gain a lot more in terms of price, size, and weight. For years, I had been trying to find a lens just like the PLM. I tried the FA 100-300, the F 70-210, the M 75-150, the M 135/3.5. These lenses all presented challenges either in terms of focal range, resolution at longer distances, or difficulty of focusing at long distances. The PLM has solved all these issues in a single stroke, and in so doing, has opened to me the world of telephoto landscapes. At Glacier NP, it was my most used lens.
Incidentally, using pixel shift with the PLM enables images that rival FF quality from a significantly smaller, lighter, and less expensive package.
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Forum: General Talk
08-26-2018, 09:27 AM
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I suspect the K1ii will be out of our reach but I still maintain we will reach the required target AND I will once more completely fail to win it :)
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Forum: General Photography
08-25-2018, 09:50 PM
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This isn't half the gear I own. But I'm going to try to clean this pile out completely.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-06-2010, 03:06 PM
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I've read the "pros dissing Pentax" thread and had a bit of a laugh. I shot high-end Canon for 30 years in my film days but am at a more laidback place now during semi-retirement. For the switch to DSLR, I couldn't justify the expense - particularly for good glass - that Canon entailed and went with Pentax. I am very happy with that choice despite the occasional sneer from my former Canon compatriots.
Now, my topic. During the recent Worldwide Photo Walk, I joined 40+ area photographers for a fun day of shooting followed by a group lunch and wrap-up. In that group, I saw exactly zero Pentax DSLRs - aside from my own. I found myself "justifying" my choice not to go with Canikon during good natured discussions. Not so much distain but more "why in the world would a serious photographer NOT buy Canikon??"
Are we really that sparse out in the world?
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Forum: General Talk
08-21-2018, 08:37 AM
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That too! Work is insane right now. So busy, photography takes a huge backseat this time of year.
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Forum: Pentax KP
08-21-2018, 03:03 PM
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This entire thread makes me want to go into debt for this camera. Haha
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-24-2018, 05:26 AM
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Somewhere someone is watching this thread and laughing out loud "they took my bait!!"... Question is who? :D
Wim
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-16-2018, 05:01 AM
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Here are a couple of my (still used) K20D shots:
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-12-2018, 10:54 AM
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There's a young lady in my camera club whose K1000 has broken and she cannot afford to replace it with a new DSLR. She's got plenty of good glass for that K1000 and is upset that she can't use it anymore, she doesn't know it yet but the next meeting the club has I'm giving her my beloved K20D, battery grip, 4 batteries, new memory card and a case to store it all in. I'll miss having that K20D, but it's my least used Pentax, I use my K7, KS2 and K5iis much more frequently. This way that K20D will still get used and because she's a member of the same club I am I get the benefit of seeing the images that camera produces for her! It's a win/win!
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-23-2018, 06:45 AM
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Since the comment is frequently made here that skills are more important than gear, and folks are daily posting questions about technique and asking for critique of their photos, I'd suggest your original comment isn't factual. Further, your succeeding comments come off as insulting and condescending. Perhaps you don't realize that, or perhaps you do. But your generalizations about forum members are false, and your disdain for their attempts at photography comes across as conceited and rude.
Most of us are just regular folks with cameras trying to learn to be better. Most don't have new cameras, nor do most have K-1 full frame bodies. Most don't have $1000 lenses. And yet there are some pretty spectacular pictures posted on this site, along with some others seeking critique, or perhaps just showing an improvement from prior efforts. Understanding other folks are at different points along the skill continuum and learning curve should be a skill any professional photographer has. I suspect your first pictures were not like the ones you post for public view now, were they?
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-23-2018, 06:42 AM
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I am not sure what to make of this, I am a "beginner" that bought a K-1 II because I could and it offered me some things that my previous K-5 body could not - mainly the articulated back screen and I like the connectivity options. I did not buy it thinking my pictures would look better, but more a tool that I could grow into.
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-23-2018, 05:45 AM
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I think the fact that it's called the Pentax forum, is an indication that it's more inclined to the brand and it's supporters.
As Pentax is probably not most professional photographers number one choice of hardware, it results in all the snap shots you see, mine included, but be sure most of us seriously endeavour to give it their best shot:D
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-23-2018, 05:18 AM
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It's not that better camera or lens will make me better photographer, just like better brush will not make someone better painter.
But camera is tool, and better tools can make live easier, and sometimes makes something possible at all.
I'm mostly into wildlife. Camera with better AF, higher usable ISO or faster lens allows me to make more good photos. Skarper lens will let me make sharper images. But you still have to know where to go, how and what to photography and how not to scare all animals before you make any picture, and no camera will give you that knowledge. And no matter what camera will you give me, i will not make great portraits (maybe sometimes by accident), because i just have no experience in this and i don't feel it.
So better hardware can let you make better pictures, but only if you know how to use it. Ofcourse good photographer with smartphone will make much better picture, than complete amator with latest camera, but good photograher with good camera can (but not always will) make better pictuere, than same photographer with bad camera.
And if someone says camera does not matter at all, go and shoot sport or wildlife with collodion. And bring me at least few usable pictures from your mountains trip or from some rally :)
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-23-2018, 05:17 AM
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generally making assumptions isn't good
and generalizations are, by their very definition, usually inaccurate to one degree or another
________________________
I can choose to hunt
with a rock
with a spear
with a bow and arrows
with a musket
with a black powder rifle
with a modern rifle
with a modern rifle and modern optics
and I can be successful, with one degree or another, with any of those options
any of those " progressive " steps may improve my chances of being successful
or not
___________________
what do I post my photos? - they are things I like
can I improve - yes
am I improving over time - I hope so
do others enjoy my photos - I hope so
but bottom line, that isn't really necessary
___________________
knowledge, experience and the ability to use such knowledge and experience helps me to improve at anything
does improved " tech " help - it might
will I ever be the best - I highly doubt it
but I can live with that
here ends the rant
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Forum: Pentax DSLR Discussion
08-23-2018, 05:05 AM
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Hi Yuri :)
We have a large active membership here, from folks who joined us in the last few days to those that have been with us for many years. Within our community - and it is a community; one that takes time and constructive contribution to become a valued member of - we have members with a wide range of skill levels, from very basic to extremely advanced. Whatever their skill levels, we have some members who enjoy equipment as much as (occasionally, more than) they enjoy photography. Whether their skills get the most from their gear is, in my view, immaterial - so long as they're having fun (which, for most of us, is what this hobby is about). I like to see great photos as much as the next guy, but I try not to judge other people's photography as strong or weak - all I care about is if folks are having fun. Personally, I don't see anything sad or shameful in someone enjoying their hobby in whatever way they see fit, and if that involves new (to them) equipment, so be it :)
Personally, my favourite camera is my old Samsung GX-10 (K10D clone). I have other more recent and advanced models, but I like the quality of files the GX-10 produces, and I'm happy with the results I get. Of course, in the hands of a more-experienced and skilled photographer (and there are plenty of those here :p), it can produce far better results than I get from it. But that doesn't stop me enjoying the camera as part of my hobby, and what people think of my photography is, frankly, immaterial - unless, that is, I'm asking for critique, in which case constructive appraisal and advice is appreciated. I'd typically prefer if our members - even the established ones that I know quite well by now - didn't refer to my photos as sad or weak, though ;)
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Forum: Pentax KP
08-22-2018, 07:12 AM
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Just some thoughts - cars are available now, next year and in 2020. Unless your car is in danger of leaving you at the side of the road, you might consider driving through the next increasingly unpredictable Midwest winter and buying new at the end of the model year. What is one more winter and even one or two more years when you are talking about photographic memories of your child? Our last three cars have been purchased in May, June and October from the end of the model year stock. The savings depend on the brand and model, but dealers are anxious to get rid of current model inventory in summer and into fall. ON THE OTHER HAND, a camera is not as essential as a car....
Good luck with your decision.
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